


Regulus, Remus and the Greasy Git

by regulusremus



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Marauders' Era, POV Multiple, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-18
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 13:51:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7804312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regulusremus/pseuds/regulusremus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first in a series which intends to flesh out Regulus and Remus' time at Hogwarts. The story starts at the beginning of Regulus Black's first year, and Remus Lupin's second, and will follow them until the end of their magical education. Canon-compliant to the time written, and switches between the two boys' POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. (1972.1.REG)

_**September, 1972;** _

Slytherin.

Slytherin. 

Please, Slytherin.

Slytherin. 

Not Gryffindor.

Whether Regulus Black was trying to convince himself or the hat of his decision was unclear, but he knew that getting into Slytherin was just the tip of the iceberg as the youngest Black, and as the first to be sorted since his brother Sirius had begun Hogwarts the previous year. Before that, it had been unthinkable that a Black should end up anywhere except Slytherin house, and Regulus wouldn’t have even given it much thought. But given the reaction when the sorting hat declared that Sirius was a Gryffindor, there had been little else occupying his mind in the days and weeks leading up to Regulus’ first day of school. It was necessary, and often overlooked as inevitable that members of the Black family should become members of Slytherin house upon attending Hogwarts. It was considered the noblest house, and everybody in their family had been in Slytherin for as long as anybody could (or was willing to) remember. However, getting into the ‘noblest’ house didn’t alone guarantee Regulus an easy life. After all, his cousin Andromeda had been a Slytherin, and the way in which Regulus’ family spoke of her was far from complimentary these days. Getting into Slytherin was the first of many steps towards pleasing his parents, but he imagined it would all be uphill from there. And now that being sorted was a reality instead of an abstract future, Regulus couldn’t even consider the alternatives.

During his journey to Hogwarts, Regulus had briefly entertained the thought of being sorted into Gryffindor. Sirius was in Gryffindor, after all. His portrait on the tapestry hadn’t been burned for that. He’d even made friends, which was something Regulus found himself very anxious about. Though he wasn’t sure he possessed all of the qualities required to be a member of his brother’s house, Regulus thought that perhaps being in Gryffindor would mean being closer to Sirius. They didn’t have the best relationship, and showing his brother that they were more similar than Sirius had thought could only improve it, he theorised. Regulus would of course have to work on getting his parents to forgive what they’d see as a glaring and obviously intentional betrayal, but in that brief moment of optimism, it didn’t seem such an unlikely idea.

But optimism was rarely long-lived in the Black family, and now that he was sitting at the front of the Great Hall, knuckles white as he gripped onto the sides of the stool as if for dear life, Regulus had absolutely no question in his mind about which house he ought to be sorted into. He had his eyes squeezed tightly shut, and he was certain that Sirius would be amused by the scene, but the truth was that he was terrified. If he ended up in Slytherin, there would be little hope of improving his relationship with his brother and he’d be faced with the prospect of a house full of people he didn’t know, or knew through family connections and didn’t particularly like. But that was increasingly looking like the lesser of two evils, since being sorted into any other house would likely earn Regulus the same looks his parents often shot Sirius. Disappointment. And the twisting in his stomach right now would be nothing compared to that. So, Slytherin it would be, providing the hat co-operated.

The hat must have been teasing him, Regulus thought, for it stayed silent a long time after being placed onto his head. Sirius said that before sorting him into Gryffindor, the hat had cracked a joke or two, but this seemed to be no laughing matter. After what felt like an age to him, but could have only been a few minutes at most for the rest of the world, the hat called out, loud and clear.

“Slytherin!”

The lukewarm reception he received when he reached the long Slytherin table seemed nothing in comparison to that of the Gryffindor table on the other side of the room. Regulus told himself that it was okay, though. He didn’t really like strangers touching him, anyway.

 

 ***

 

When they were escorted to the common room in the dungeons, Regulus really began to panic. Sirius wasn’t here, and nor was Kreacher. Whilst he’d made the best effort to stick to Narcissa’s side, she hadn’t wanted a first year trailing her all year, and had gently told him to stop. Leaving him alone.

Having spent the majority of his childhood surrounded only by his extensive family, there were a lot of things about social interactions Regulus didn’t understand. One thing he did know, however, was that it was not socially acceptable for a boy’s best friend to be a house elf. For that reason, he resisted the urge to seek out Kreacher, instead forcing himself to talk to the other boys he’d be sharing a dorm with.

None of the other Slytherin first years seemed particularly interested in his family, which was new. Adults seemed to care. When people saw his father, their behaviour changed noticeably and they were always very nice to Regulus. But now he was outshone by a chocolate frog card and a spell that a boy named Adrian had showed them on the train. If every day was going to be like this, it was a wonder Sirius had ever made friends at school.

 

 

***

 

 

_**October, 1972;** _

The first weeks passed slowly, and very little changed for Regulus. He received a letter from his parents, congratulating him on being accepted into the only acceptable house and reminding him to make friends with the right sort of people. By that, they meant pure-bloods. It was harder than he had imagined to fulfill his parents’ wishes as he soon found that it was not an easy conversation to begin. There was a war on, and people who were muggle-born or half-bloods were hardly about to admit that to a Black, even if said Black happened to be Sirius’ brother. 

One person who did introduce himself to Regulus however, was Severus Snape. He was a second year student, and already knew Regulus by name. With dark hair and a pale complexion to match the scowl he always seemed to be wearing around Regulus, the younger boy thought he’d be right at home in the Black household. He didn’t exactly seem _fond_ of the younger boy, but he didn’t protest to Regulus following him around and that was a start. 

By the time October came around, Regulus would sit next to Severus in the Great Hall, and this garnered mixed reactions. Narcissa seemed pleased about the budding friendship. She was dating an older boy, Lucius Malfoy, and Severus had been friendly with him during his time at Hogwarts. Sirius on the other hand, glared at Snape from across the hall, and was clearly unhappy with the new seating arrangement. Regulus suspected that this was part of the reason Severus allowed him to sit beside him, but neither of them brought Sirius into their conversations. In fact, neither of them brought very much into conversation. Regulus would sit beside Snape, but the older boy mostly ignored him, and Regulus found himself joining in with the surrounding conversation more and more as he settled at Hogwarts. 

During the Halloween feast, two boys beside Regulus were discussing Quidditch. First years weren’t allowed to play, but that didn’t quash Regulus’ interest in the sport. Some of his cousins had played, and more than once he’d been allowed on their brooms. Regulus learned that the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team was Emma Vanity, and that people seemed to like her. He talked with the boys for a short while, expressing his interest in the sport and telling them that one day he planned to play as Seeker. They seemed doubtful, but given that they had only just met Regulus, he tried not to be offended. He was sure he didn’t look particularly athletic, so he couldn’t blame their skepticism.

When he finally left the Great Hall, stomach full and rather tired, Regulus ran into his brother. This was to be something of a rare occasion, Regulus was learning, so he was initially pleased to see Sirius. Unfortunately, the sentiments didn’t seem to be returned.

“Why are you sitting with Snape?” Sirius was only a few inches taller than his brother, but he held himself with more confidence, and managed to easily tower over the younger Black.

“”He’s nice.” Regulus didn’t want to start an argument, but he also didn’t think Sirius had the right to choose his friends for him, after ignoring him since the beginning of the year.

“He is not.” The response was quick, and Sirius had clearly already made up his mind about Severus Snape. “He’s only sitting with you to annoy me, you know?”

Again, he seemed confident of that, and that in itself irritated Regulus. He moved past his brother, deciding that their conversation was finished. Regulus might not be very popular at Hogwarts, but he didn’t need to let Sirius revel in that fact for too long. 

“Not everything revolves around you, Sirius.” 

As he walked back to the Slytherin common room, Regulus thought back to his pre-sorting worries. If this was going to be his relationship with Sirius from now on, then so be it. Sirius had his friends, and Regulus would make his. After all, Narcissa and Andromeda weren’t friends anymore, and they were both perfectly happy. Sirius didn’t need Regulus, and Regulus certainly didn’t need him.


	2. (1972.2.REG)

_**November, 1972;** _

The third of November was Sirius’ birthday, and Regulus spent the majority of the morning feeling badly about their last conversation. He hadn’t spoken to Sirius at all since they had argued, and thought he ought to apologize. Regularly, he’d allow his stubborn side to win and wait for Sirius to apologize, since he was clearly the one in the wrong. But days had passed now, and Regulus had never really coped very well with people being cross at him, especially when it came to his family. 

He waited until after he’d eaten lunch to find his brother. That way, he had plenty of time to find him before his next lessons began. Having only been at Hogwarts for two months, Regulus still found himself getting lost multiple times a day. He tried to memorise the portraits he passed, deciding he could easily find his way around that way. Regulus was rather proud of this idea, until the figures in the portraits began to move around the castle. By the third time he passed Damara Dodderidge, his forgiving mood had all but vanished and he mostly wanted to find a familiar part of the castle. Instead of seeking out Gryffindor Tower, Regulus decided his time would be better spent in the library doing homework. Sirius was unlikely to be found there, but he was in no particular rush to feign remorse. 

On account of still being largely friend-less, Regulus found the book he needed for Slughorn’s potions homework and sat alone at one of the back tables. Alone, until some Gryffindor boy approached him, clearing his throat in order to gain Regulus’ attention. At a quick glance, Regulus would probably put him in second year. This was both because he hadn’t seen the boy in any of his lessons, and because Regulus was fairly certain he’d seen him traipsing behind Sirius at dinner time.

“You’re Sirius’ brother.” 

It didn’t sound like a question, so Regulus didn’t bother to respond to him. Didn’t he know it was common courtesy to make an introduction when initiating conversation with a stranger? Regulus already knew who _he_ was, he didn’t need any help with that. His lack of a response seemed to make the other boy uncomfortable though, and he eventually invited himself to sit across from Regulus, hands placed on top of his closed books as he spoke again. 

“Oh. Uh.. Remus. Lupin.” Regulus recognised the name as one of Sirius’ friends, and looked the other boy up and down. He clearly was one of the boys he’d seen his brother hanging around with, but  he certainly wasn’t exactly what he’d expected Sirius’ friends to look like. Earlier in the week, he’d encountered Potter, and could easily conclude the reasons they were friends. Sirius was always getting himself into trouble with the other boy, and Regulus suspected he had more in common with James Potter than he did with him. But Remus Lupin didn’t look like he was in trouble often. After all, he was in the library, and his uniform wasn’t untidy in the way that Sirius’ always was. Realising he still hadn’t spoken, Regulus shrugged his shoulders.

“I thought about apologising. But then I got lost, and when I found my way, I wasn’t sorry anymore.” This seemed to amuse Lupin, which in turn annoyed Regulus. He didn’t know why he was even talking to the boy, since he’d done nothing but state his name and tell him something about himself that he already knew. Before he could open his mouth to voice this though, Lupin opened his own book and smiled.

“You probably know better than anybody how dramatic Sirius can be. Just give him time to get over it.” That sounded like fair advice, and he bit back the remark he was ready to make prior to Remus speaking. He didn’t tell the older boy to leave him alone, though he also didn’t attempt to befriend him. If there was one thing he though Sirius would dislike more than him being friends with Severus Snape, it was him stealing Sirius’ friends. Instead, he’d be civil and study across the table from him with minimal small talk. 

***

_**December, 1972;** _

Making friends was hard for Regulus, and he knew that he’d never feel the way that Regulus did boarding the train home. When he awkwardly said goodbye to the few tentative friends he had made in his first term at Hogwarts, he was relieved more than anything. He might not have the most perfect home life, but at least everything was easy and predictable when he was at home. His mother would be cross about something, and Bellatrix would probably be there at least weekly, discussing her upcoming social events with her sister Narcissa, and Sirius would ignore everybody, likely including Regulus, unless he wanted something.

As for the newest Slytherin, he’d probably spend the time following Kreacher about his daily life, or eavesdropping when his father and his colleagues spoke about the daily happenings in the wizarding world. It wasn’t an exciting life, but he didn’t have to worry about getting into too much trouble, or doing anything to upset his parents. 

On the second full day of the Christmas holidays, Regulus received a letter. And, as he had seen Sirius and his cousins do since they began their time at Hogwarts, Regulus excused himself to read the letter in private. The contents were unlikely to be anything secretive, but that still didn’t mean he wanted to read the letter aloud to his entire family over the breakfast table. 

The small feeling of excitement he had at receiving post disappeared as he bundled towards the staircase, only to see Sirius following behind with three or four hefty envelopes. His brother smirked, and he was glad to be able to avoid him once he reached his own room. The letter turned out to be from a boy Regulus sat with in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and was merely updating him on the gossip circulating around the student body. A girl named Florence who was in classes with Narcissa had been spotted kissing a boy behind the greenhouses. Regulus wasn’t entirely sure whether he was supposed to care about these things, but he was glad of the update on Emma Vanity and the rest of the Quidditch team. Regulus considered the need to respond to the letter, and decided that it was probably polite to. He’d do that later.

***

“Anything exciting in your letter?” Sirius seemed amused at the idea of somebody writing to Regulus, but given how little they had spoken in the past few months, Regulus wasn’t about to start an argument. 

“A girl named Florence kissed somebody behind the greenhouses before term finished.” It had hardly interested Regulus, so he didn’t expect it to interest his brother any more, but he decided it was the most relevant piece of gossip to him, since he probably wouldn’t care what the Slytherins were getting up to. 

As he predicted, Sirius didn’t seem impressed by the news whatsoever. He’d try again. “There’s going to be a case next year. About the house elves. I heard Dad talking to some man yesterday.” Sirius took out his exploding snap cards, which Regulus thought he must have been at least interested enough to continue the conversation.

“Go on.”

“Well, so they’ll all be free, and stuff. Or something like that. Dad didn’t seem very happy about it.” 

“I can’t imagine why not.”

Regulus rolled his eyes. “When I asked Kreacher about it, he wouldn’t tell me if he thought it was a good thing or not.” Regulus felt badly about it, when he thought about the house elves. He liked Kreacher, and he didn’t want him to have to leave. But he also didn’t want Kreacher to stay simply because he couldn’t possibly leave, even if he wanted to. 

Sirius seemed to notice his discomfort. Either that, or he’d grown bored of the topic of conversation already. He began placing cards on the table in front of them in a circle formation. “Bavarian?” Regulus knew that Sirius only liked to play this version because he was good at it, and because he enjoyed watching Regulus jump when the cards exploded, but playing exploding snap with Sirius sounded like more fun than he’d had in the past few weeks, if not months.


	3. (1973.1.REM)

_**January, 1973;** _

Ever since Remus had arrived at Hogwarts, there had been fourteen full moons. Well, fourteen full moons where he’d been at school, and thus had to make up excuses for his absence. He’d been keeping a journal of every excuse he used, too. That way, he wouldn’t say anything that contradicted a previous excuse and in turn, draw attention to himself or cause suspicion.

_**January, 1973;**_ _A relative was very ill, and I had to go home very quickly, lest I miss their very last mortal moments. (Remus felt badly about lying about such a thing, but nobody wanted to talk much about possibly dying relatives. It was just an awkward topic of conversation)._  
 _ **February, 1973;**_ _Said ill relative had made a miraculous recovery, and I had been invited to a party to celebrate. Easier to pass off, since the full moon had fallen on a Saturday._  
 _ **March, 1973;**_ _Faked a small accident, and an obviously over-attentive Mdm. Pomfrey kept me in for observations._  
  
 _ **April, 1973;**_

_**April, 1973;** Family wedding. Be sure to pretend it’s the other side of the family. Muggle wedding in Cardiff. S  & J wouldn’t understand muggle complexities. _

Of course, Remus was always very careful to keep this journal hidden. It was kept inside a potions textbook, in the middle of a pile of books stashed under Remus’ bed. There was absolutely no reason for anybody to look there. Which was why it came as a surprise to the young werewolf when he found Sirius, James and Peter huddled around it one afternoon. 

Unsure of how much they’d read, or figured out, Remus stood glued to the spot. Maybe they knew. Maybe they were discussing what they should do. How many other people would they have told by now? Did they hate him? That was a stupid question, if they knew about this, then they definitely did. Ordinarily, Remus would be angry about them going through his things, but all he could feel at that moment was panic. 

“What are you doing with that?”

Sirius looked up from the book, and his expression was a mix of confusion and amusement. At least he didn’t have a pitchfork. Either side of him, James and Peter sat back on Remus’ bed, at least having the decency to look a little sorry. 

“I was looking for your potions work to copy, but this is much more interesting.” His friend was lying on his stomach on his bed, the book in one hand, and his chin in the other. Now he was grinning up at Remus, though he still clearly didn’t fully comprehend the situation. Remus decided to chance a few steps forward. They probably wouldn’t be this calm if they’d figured it out. “What’s all this, then?”

“S and J.” James read aloud, tugging the book closer to him, “Is that us, then? Because for a start, Sirius and me are very good at muggle stuff. Practically experts.”

Remus didn’t know what to say. Anything he said could, and would be held against him. So he stuck with the only response that wouldn’t incriminate him, which was to correct James. 

“Sirius and I.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” James rolled his eyes and snatched the book from Sirius’ hand, flicking the pages right to the back. “Look, there’s even a page here for ‘ideas’.” 

“Are these excuses or something?” Peter sounded as confused as the other two, but perhaps less amused. Still, Remus said nothing.

“Excuses? What, as in, none of this stuff ever happened?” Now Sirius sounded less amused, too. Remus moved across the room and plucked his book from James’ hands, holding it underneath his arm as he looked between the three of them. 

“You shouldn’t go through my things.”

***

“What would you need to be hiding every month?” 

“For the last time, James, it’s nothing.”

“Maybe he’s started his period, and doesn’t want everybody to know.”

“Shove off, Black.”

“I’m pretty sure the name ‘Black’ is reserved for my brother and cousins these days.”

Remus sighed. He almost wished they had worked it out earlier, so that he didn’t have to endure their guessing. At the current moment, they were all on their individual beds. Sirius and James were slouched lazily, leaning off the edge of theirs. Remus was sitting cross-legged with the book sitting guiltily in his lap. And Peter was lying on his front, now copying Remus’ potions essay that they’d been looking for earlier. He wished the other two could be that easily distracted.

“It’s nothing of importance.”

“It’s been going on since the start of first year, mate!” It was Sirius who spoke, but James’ raised eyebrow told him that they weren’t going to give up very easily. 

“Just trust me, will you?” Sirius was now sulking, realising that Remus wasn’t about to tell them just because they asked nicely, or repeatedly.

***

Regulus and Remus studying together had become a somewhat regular thing. They weren’t friends, though. In fact, the arrangement they had was similar to the one Regulus had with Snape. Regulus would do his homework, and Remus would do his. Occasionally, they would discuss Sirius briefly. And when Remus noticed the younger boy looking particularly stuck, he’d crane his neck to take a look at the problem, and offer help. 

Since the boys had discovered his journal, Remus had been spending more and more time in the library. The thought of them discussing what it could mean between them worried him, but if he had to listen to one more suggestion as to his infliction, he was going to go crazy. 

Of course, Regulus had noticed the increase in Remus’ time in there. When he arrived, Remus was there, and when he left, Remus stayed. In fact, Remus’ constant presence was starting to irk the younger Black. His being there constantly was making it very difficult to hide out in the library, especially when the older boy noticed him doing so.

“Are you actually going to do any homework?” Remus asked, indicating to the closed books Regulus was resting his head upon. If Walburga could see him now, she’d no doubt be lecturing him about his posture. 

“No.”

“Then why are you here?” It was a little rich for Remus to begin interrogating people whilst hiding in order to avoid questions, but he didn’t care much about that.

“Snape and one of his friends have a visitor. Lucius Malfoy. I don’t know if you know him, but he’s seeing Cissy.” Remus was vaguely aware of Malfoy’s existence. As Regulus had said, he was dating Sirius’ cousin, so his name had cropped up in conversation more than once.

“Why does that mean that you have to hide out here?” His transfigurations essay could wait a while longer, and Remus mirrored the younger boy’s body language, folding his arms on top of the desk.

“He’s sort of... rude. Snape and Avery like him, though.” Regulus shrugged it off, and continued. “It’s okay, though. Kreacher gave me this to pass the time.” He proceeded to pull a newspaper out from his robes, setting it down on the desk in front of them and pushing his school books further back to make room.  “Anyway. You’re in here constantly these days. Why?”

“No reason.”

“That’s not fair, I told you why I’m here!” Regulus seemed genuinely offended, and Remus rolled his eyes at the sudden similarity he saw between Sirius and his brother.

“It’s really nothing that would interest you.” The pout on his face remained for only a few moments more, before he smirked and opened his paper to a page splattered with stars and purple ink. 

“What’s your sign? Maybe it’ll give me some clues.” He tried hard not to roll his eyes again. He didn’t believe in that nonsense, and he doubted that Regulus did, either. Even if everybody in the Black family was named after some kind of star or constellation, it didn’t really strike Remus as his kind of thing. 

“Pisces.” Even if he didn’t believe that it would mean anything, Remus couldn’t help the curiosity that made him answer. 

Running a slim finger down to find the relevant horoscope, Regulus cleared his throat before reading aloud,

“The decisions you make this month will impact largely on your future... Blah, blah... Boring love stuff... You may be showing an interest in people’s pet peeves, don’t stir the cauldron... blah, blah..” He frowned, looking back up at Remus. “Well, nothing in here about hiding in the library. You’d think they’d try to be a little more specific.”

Remus had to smile at that, glad that any serious questions still appeared to be off the cards for now.


End file.
